The ROC Foundation focuses on three pillars of development: Educational Development, Social Development and Enterprise Development. The organisation is comprised of full-time staff, interns, volunteers, parents and beneficiaries. It is our aim to be a “ROC” for the community, an organisation that they can lean on for support and that helps them build their lives on a “ROC” of solid principles and values that will help them to rise above their circumstance.
What skills and resources were you able to draw from the community for this project?
Initially a group of individuals who were moved to alleviate the poverty and suffering in the Heidedal community, had a passion and desire to serve the vulnerable children and youth. These individuals worked in the community on a part-time basis, and their community service was literally self-funded. The focus was primarily on the surrounding schools. These individuals essentially paid to serve, and this serving and caring heart was a fundamental attribute that guided the organisational culture towards a greater future. After a period of serving the community, we came to the realization that the task at hand was too big to impact the community on a part-time basis; and so a handful of them dedicated themselves full-time to the task at hand. With the assistance and support of full-time and part-time care-givers, provincial government departments, the corporate and educational sector, religious and higher learning institutions, private companies and individuals, the ROC Foundation grew into the organisation that it is today. They contributed their skills that ranges from teaching, policemen, health professionals, clergy, and business-operators.
The challenges
Our youth is alienated as unemployment, alcohol, drugs and all kinds of abuse are the norm. Although the culture they find themselves in, is not entirely rootless and disconnected, it is certainly a distressed one. We provide services that seek to minimize the impact of poverty, HIV/Aids, substance abuse, crime, psychological and emotional distress on our youth and children. The aim of the center, specifically the After-school Programme, is to serve the children according to their nutritional, personal, physical, spiritual and educational needs; to develop each child according to his or her potential; and to transform the minds of children, so that their mind-set and not their circumstances will determine their success. We want to raise a generation that is confident and secure in their uniqueness, a generation that is goal-orientated, that rises above their circumstances in order to mentor and impact future generations, and in turn create a better South Africa.
Addressing the challenges
Our vision is to "Serve, Develop and Transform our communities". Community members are engaged and enabled to make conducive decisions, and thereby heightens their commitment to implementation and ownership. The mission of ROC Foundation is to fortify social structures and morals in our community by addressing the basic needs of the vulnerable and by creating platforms for individual enablement through involvement and leadership. We focus on instilling a positive and values driven mind-set within our children and youth. We acknowledge that so much more can be done to create more awareness about the project through the various platforms that are available, which can add to the sustainability of the organisation.
The achievements
We have established the ROC-kids Early Childhood Development Center that provides care to vulnerable toddlers and it is growing steadily. The affordability provides access to quality educational preparation to the severely marginalized poor and mostly unemployed parents. The ROC-rangers After-school Care Center holistically care for 120 children daily through the ROC Nutrition Center and various well-structured interventions. Our presence on the Primary and Secondary schools has been welcomed by parents and teachers alike and many do testify of the positive impact it brought about. Through our Internship programmes, our ROC interns can be taught business skills in various aspects, ranging from planning, production, sales & distribution, as well as growing their own potential businesses successfully. In terms of generating funds, our business venture falls well within the scope of current legislation which permits NPO’s to generate up to 10% of their funding requirements from entrepreneurial efforts. This entrepreneurial spirit also fits in with a growing international trend, where a substantial part of the countries’ Gross Domestic Product is produced by joint NPO and government initiatives. By establishing entrepreneurs at school-leaving level, we will be able to develop young people that will be able to prosper, given the right knowledge and tools, thus becoming employers in an economy increasingly saturated with job seekers. By establishing an entrepreneurial spirit among our staff and community members, we are building on the capacity of ROC to extend our services to more and more children in need, eventually encompassing adults as well that are in need of our unique empowerment approach.
Johannesburg, South Africa